


knight in yellow cloth

by jackgyeoms



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Except around Ben, Hikaru doesn't get nervous, Hikaru has been crushing on Ben for weeks, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7661956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackgyeoms/pseuds/jackgyeoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Right. This is going to sound ridiculous but, um, do you have cleaning supplies?”</p>
<p>“Cleaning supplies,” Hikaru repeats slowly, and his visitor nods eagerly. “Yeah, like bleach and sprays for stainless steel?”</p>
<p>“I know what cleaning supplies are, I just don’t understand why you want to know.”</p>
<p>-<br/>Meet cute for Hikaru/Ben</p>
            </blockquote>





	knight in yellow cloth

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt: "A just received a call from their parents who have decided to pop in for a visit! The thing is… A has been living on their own for a few months but has slacked off on household chores and y’know, buying proper groceries. In a panic, A runs to their neighbour, B, and asks if they can borrow some cleaning supplies and groceries so that their parents will believe that A is doing just fine on their own.”
> 
> Beta'd so all mistakes are my own

 

Hikaru is woken way too early for his liking by insistent knocking on his door. He’d been studying all night, only a week away from his first theory test and this is the only free morning he’ll have all week so he wanted to spend the time sleeping until his afternoon lessons began. So it is safe to say that the disturbance at his door is something of an irritation.

He still in his sleep wear – an old gaming t-shirt and a pair of boxers – when he stumbles to the door. He fumbles with the lock, and swings the door open with such viciousness that a breeze catches strands of his hair. The man on the other side looks apologetic and frantic, and that’s what makes Hikaru bite is tongue. That, and the heavy weight that sits there because he knows this man, has admired him from afar since he’d moved in the year before. They have never actually had a conversation, only offering the briefest of greetings in passing, and Hikaru doesn’t know the man’s name – he’d been calling him 23D since the first time he’d seen what apartment he’d been leaving – but he has entertained fantasies about conversations over dinner and kisses sweetened by wine. (Xanya calls him a romantic, and Yun calls him soppy. He will proudly take both titles).

They were just that though – fantasies, and Hikaru had hoped that should 23D come to his home, he’d be a little more prepared for it. He tries not to squirm in his underwear.

“Hi,” he greets.

Hikaru drags an eye from his bare feet to the still dripping wet ends of his hair. “Hello.”

“Sorry, um, I’m your neighbour. From two doors down?”

“I know,” he says, and hurries to add, “I’ve seen you around.”

“Right.” 23D goes a little pink in his cheeks. “This is going to sound ridiculous but, um, do you have cleaning supplies?”

“Cleaning supplies,” Hikaru repeats slowly, and his visitor nods eagerly. “Yeah, like bleach and sprays for stainless steel?”

“I know what cleaning supplies are, I just don’t understand why you want to know,” Hikaru replies. A part of him wants to give the man anything he wants, but the rest of him has some restrain, and acknowledges he should play it cool. Handing over potentially toxic materials without question seems to be the opposite.

“Can I borrow them? I just – I really need them,” 23D insists, “I’ll bring them back.”

“You don’t have your own?” Hikaru asks, and the man gives a sheepish laugh. “I haven’t done shopping in a few weeks – between lessons and works, I just haven’t had the time, and my parents are coming down in-“ he checks his watch-“oh, about two hours and I’d really appreciate your help in this.”

“Done,” Hikaru agrees. He can’t say that he’s not enamoured by 23D’s blabbing, but he does tell him, “I understand how parents can be.”

He thinks back to his parents and his mother’s warm hands telling him that he could still come and live at home, and his father frowning to the ceiling and asking whether this place is regulation. They meant good by it – he is their only son, and they worry about him, even to the point of annoyance.

Hikaru gathers the contents of the cupboard under the sink, and pushes them into the man’s open arms. He struggles to hold them all, fumbles a little. 23D drops a packet of cloths in his excitement, and Hikaru has to slot them in more securely.  He’s grinning widely, letting loose streams of gratitude and disappears as quickly as he came.

Hikaru stares at the empty space for a long moment, before he releases that he’s still in his underwear, and this is entirely too much of a display he’s putting himself on. He shuts the door and crawls back to bed, and dreams of cute neighbours and kitchen floors.

He doesn’t forget about the incident in the days that pass, but he’s definitely given ample distraction – his professor allows the class into the flight simulator for the first time that term, and his skin itches afterwards at just being able to put his hands to the cockpit. But he is reminded quite suddenly with the carefully lined up bottles on his porch, and the note stuck to his door.

                              _You saved my ass. Thank you._

_Ben_

Six words, and they bring a smile to Hikaru’s face. 23D has a name. _Ben._ He thumbs at the note all night, uses it as a bookmark in his old fighter pilot handbook the next day. Xanya catches sight of it and dodges his attempts to keep her from it.

“Who is Ben?” she questions, the plates on her neck moving independently at the tilt of her head.

“Just someone from my apartment block,” he tries to pass it off, but Xanya’s race are a little telepathic and she gasps, “Is this 23D?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Hikaru insists, feels his cheeks getting warmer.

Xanya nods eagerly. “It is. It is. It is a line of communication. You have a reason to talk to now. You must use it.”

It’s what makes him thinking leaving a note in return is a good idea. A line of communication, something he’s never had before. Hikaru thinks of the times that small talk had stuck in his throat, and had left him resorting to a smile that feels uncomfortable upon his lips just to not appear unapproachable. (God, did he want to be approachable). He puts a couple bottles of unopened bleach at the door as well – it’s helpful, he argues with himself. It’s charming, he hopes.

                          _You’re welcome. I brought you these just in case. But you ever need a knight in yellow cloth, I’m your man._

_Hikaru_

He leaves it two doors down, goes back to take it off an hour later, and then puts it back again because he’s being ridiculous.

It’s still there when he leaves for classes the next morning, and he tells himself that he’s not nervous. He thinks he catches a glance of Ben on his way onto campus, and whilst he couldn’t be too sure, embarrassment makes him look away anyhow.

He has a note on his door when he returns that afternoon.

                            _My knight in yellow cloth, huh? Does that mean I’m your damsel in distress?_

_Ben_

Hikaru rewrites his answer four times, and gets a message to Yun for help because he’s always been the most eloquent of their friendship group. He offers six suggestions so terrible that Hikaru is debating hanging up and scrapping the whole idea, before saying something actually useful.

                _You don’t have to be in distress for me to be your man._

_Hikaru_

It’s a push - a jump really, and it makes his heart pound at the risk. It sits on his desk for nearly two days before he feels brave enough to actually put the note to the door. And then he returns to his room, climbs into bed and doesn’t sleep for the nausea in the pit of his stomach.

At most, he’s expecting another note.  At worst, nothing at all. He doesn’t expect a visit.

This time, the knock at his door jerks him his focus on an old 21st century classic movie that had been recommended by a classmate. He still stumbles to the door, and he’s still not quite dressed – his boxers are riding up on one thigh, and he has to shove it down in a desperate attempt to look acceptable when he opens the door.

It’s Ben who stares back at him. He’s more put together now, dressed in a button up and black trousers like he’s just gotten off of work, and there’s a few buttons at his neck that are opened to reveal smooth collarbone. He has one hand braced on the door, and his legs crossed at the ankles and Hikaru has never been more attracted to any one man in his entire life.

“Hey,” Ben greets, smiles at him.

“Hello,” Hikaru croaks, and coughs to clear his throat. His hand lingers on the door, and then drops to his side, before folding over his chest as if that could hide some of his bareness.

“I wanted to thank you in person,” Ben says, “For the cleaning stuff.”

“Anytime,” Hikaru replies, voice shaky.

“You mean that?” Ben questions, and Hikaru gets the feeling that he isn’t just talking about neighbourly friendliness.

He feigns ignorance. “Of course. Anything to help a neighbour.”

“Not your damsel in distress?” Ben teases, and there’s something about the word ‘ _your’_ that makes Hikaru’s heartbeat rise.

He starts, stops sharply, and makes a strange noise that makes the tips of his ears burn. Smooth, he mocks.

But Ben smiles wider, brown eyes bright, and says, “It’s cute. You’re cute.”

“I am?” Hikaru says rather than his reflex no you are.

Ben hums. “Very,” he confirms. He reaches into his back pocket and presents the holo-note, help between two fingers. “I think the whole my man thing may be a little premature. How about dinner first?”

Hikaru repeats the word slowly. “Like a…date?”

“Yeah, like a date,” Ben says, “I’m sure even a Starfleet officer has some free time for pleasantries.”

The word is drawled out, curves around Hikaru’s neck and settles, heavy and warm, at the base of his neck. His tongue is thick but he talks through it. “I have Wednesdays off, a-and weekends.”

“How’s about this coming Wednesday? At six?” Ben offers, “There’s a nice BBQ place down the road.”

 “I – yes, that’s,” Hikaru stalls himself and then says, calmer, “I would like that.”

“I’ll pick you up,” Ben says, and holds out his hand. Hikaru takes it without thinking, and watches a little wide eyed when his hand is lifted and lips press a kiss to the back. There’s a moment and staring, and then Ben visibly winces, laughs nervously, “Sorry. That was a lot more suave in my head.”

“Suave enough,” Hikaru assures, and his cheeks hurt from returning the smile that Ben gives him.

“Good, good, I’m glad,” he nods, laughs a little, “Then-“he drops another kiss to the back of his hand, “-I’ll see you soon.”

“See you,” Hikaru bobs his head, and when his hand is released, the kisses linger.

Ben leaves, stopping only to do a little turn on his heel and wave before he disappears behind the closed door of his apartment. Hikaru stays there for another five beats, before the door across from him begins to swoosh open, and he slams the door shut. Last thing he wants is to flash Mr Poe his underwear – been there, done there, nothing he wants repeated.

The movie is still paused when he goes back to it, but he cannot return to the level of immersion once found. He alerts both Xanya and Yun to his upcoming date.

Yun claims full responsibility, of course –

“Clearly I’m a romance genius,” Yun declares, smug, and is quickly deflated by Xanya’s, “Then why have you been unsuccessful in obtaining a steady relationship with those of any species?”

\- And Xanya expresses her excitement with rolls of her tongue.

The chat gets loud after that, voices talking over each other and offering advice that Hikaru appreciates but definitely isn’t going to listen to. He holds his legs, and feels the skin too alive on the back of his hand. I have a date with 23D, he tells himself.

“I have a date with 23D,” he says, out loud.

“I think he’d probably like you to call him Ben,” Yun points out.

“Ben,” Hikaru says, rolls the name around his tongue like he did when he first learnt it. “You know, Ben Sulu has a really nice ring to it.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> [come and talk star trek to me](http://gladers.co.vu)


End file.
